India’s communication satellite GSAT-30, aimed at providing high-quality television, telecommunications and broadcasting services, was successfully launched onboard Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana on January 17, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said.

Blasting off from the Ariane Launch Complex in Kourou, a French territory located in northeastern coast of South America, European launch provider Arianespace’s Ariane 5 vehicle injected GSAT-30 into the orbit in a flawless flight lasting about 38 minutes and 25 seconds.

What are the features of GSAT-30?

The 3,357-kg satellite, which was deployed from the lower passenger position of Ariane 5 launch vehicle (VA 251) into geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), is configured on ISRO’s enhanced I-3K Bus structure to provide communication services from geostationary orbit in C and Ku bands.

The satellite derives its heritage from ISRO’s earlier INSAT / GSAT satellite series, and is equipped with 12 C and 12 Ku band transponders.

GSAT-30 is to serve as a replacement to the ageing INSAT-4A spacecraft services with enhanced coverage, ISRO has said.

“GSAT-30 has a unique configuration of providing flexible frequency segments and flexible coverage. The satellite will provide communication services to Indian mainland and islands through Ku-band and wide coverage covering Gulf countries, a large number of Asian countries and Australia through C-band,” said ISRO chairman K. Sivan.

With a mission life of 15 years, GSAT-30 is an operational communication satellite for DTH, television uplink and VSAT services.

ISRO has said the communication payload of GSAT-30 is specifically designed and optimised to maximise the number of transponders on the spacecraft bus.

“GSAT-30 will provide DTH television services, connectivity to VSATs for ATM, stock-exchange, television uplinking and teleport services, Digital Satellite News Gathering and e-governance applications. The satellite will also be used for bulk data transfer for a host of emerging telecommunication applications,” Sivan added.

One Ku-band beacon downlink signal is transmitted for ground-tracking purpose, the space agency has noted.

How ISRO will control the satellite?

ISRO’s Master Control Facility (MCF) at Hassan in Karnataka took over the command and control of GSAT-30 immediately after its separation from the launch vehicle and preliminary checks of the satellite revealed its normal health, the space agency said.

In the days ahead, orbit-raising manoeuvres will be performed to place the satellite in Geostationary Orbit (36,000 km above the equator) by using its onboard propulsion system.

During the final stages of its orbit raising operations, the two solar arrays and the antenna reflectors of GSAT-30 will be deployed, following this, the satellite will be put in its final orbital configuration.

The satellite will be operational after the successful completion of all in-orbit tests.

World’s first launch service

Arianespace was founded in 1980 as the world’s first launch services and solutions company. It has its headquarters in Courcouronnes, France. Since its creation, Arianespace has launched more than 600 satellites, with over half of all the telecom satellites now in service worldwide.

Since the launch of India’s APPLE experimental satellite on Ariane Flight L03 in 1981, Arianespace has orbited 24 satellites, including GSAT-30, for ISRO.

Arianespace’s Ariane 5 is able to carry payloads weighing more than 10 metric tonnes to geostationary transfer orbit and over 20 metric tons into low-Earth orbit - with a high degree of accuracy mission after mission.

This performance ensures that Ariane 5 will be able to loft the heaviest spacecraft either in production or on the drawing boards, and enables Arianespace to match up most telecommunications satellites for highly efficient dual launches - a capability that has been proven by the company in Ariane series missions since the 1980s.

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